PM Responsible for Success of Levy Talks, Says Liaqat Baloch

ISLAMABAD 05 Nov: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Vice Emir Liaqat Baloch has said that negotiations with the government on the petroleum levy have reached their final stage, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif bears the responsibility for making the talks successful.

He warned that JI would be justified in launching a long march if the government failed to provide relief to the people.

Speaking to journalists after chairing a party meeting on the petroleum levy issue in Islamabad, Baloch said JI's struggle was aimed at securing relief for the people, as the burden of the petroleum levy and payments to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) had become unbearable.

He said the economy had come to a standstill while the government was using unfair means to extract money from people's pockets.

During the meeting, JI experts briefed the party leadership on the progress of negotiations with the government. A joint technical committee comprising experts from both sides has been constituted to finalise proposals for resolving the petroleum levy issue.

Earlier, a meeting of the joint technical experts was also held at the Finance Ministry. JI representatives informed Baloch that they were still awaiting government directives to enable the technical committee to reach a final decision on the levy.

The meeting, chaired by Baloch, was attended by JI Deputy Secretary Syed Farasat Shah, JI North KP Emir Inayatullah Khan, Lahore Emir Ziauddin Ansari and Islamabad Emir Nasrullah Randhawa. Farasat Shah and Randhawa are members of the joint technical committee on the petroleum levy.

Baloch said all rounds of negotiations, as well as the meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, had established an understanding that the government would provide relief to consumers and gradually abolish what he described as an unjust tax.

He said the government had repeatedly acknowledged that JI's protests over the petroleum levy and IPP-related issues had helped secure relief for the public.

He added that peaceful public resistance and protest, if recognised as an effective means of resolving public grievances, would strengthen democratic and political traditions in the country.

Warning the government against delaying relief measures, Baloch said JI would launch a long march if meaningful steps were not taken, holding the government entirely responsible for the consequences.

He said JI had made every effort to give the negotiation process a chance and demonstrate its commitment to a peaceful resolution. However, the party's ultimate objective was not temporary concessions but sustainable relief that could help revive economic activity.

Baloch also contacted Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and government negotiating committee chairman Ahsan Iqbal, urging them to finalise the decisions on the issue.

Dar informed him that he was attending a meeting with visiting diplomatic leaders from abroad and would communicate the government's next steps by the following day to make the negotiations result-oriented.